This is the first of a new regular series of blog posts in which I will select some of my favourite wedding photographs which I have taken, and explain the reasons why I like them. The photographs I choose may not always be a potential award winning shot, but there will be something about each image which makes that photograph special to me.
The first photograph I have chosen is over a year old now, taken in October 2008 at the Norton Grange Hotel in Rochdale, just outside Manchester. It was taken without flash (the ceiling lights acted as the main light source) in a corridor in the hotel.
It is one of my favourite wedding photographs for a number of reasons.
The main reason is the bride in the photograph is my sister Karen, and I think she looks beautiful! Covering Karen and Gary’s wedding was my present to them and it was a pleasure to cover a wedding where so many of the guests were close family and friends.
I had pre-visualised the shot when I first visited the Norton Grange a couple of weeks before the wedding. Although I always visit the wedding venue beforehand to plan what photographs I would like to take, they don’t always come off exactly as I imagine (sometimes better!), but this one did.
I also like this photograph as it is also creative and contemporary. The majority of my favourite photographs are of a more reportage style, not overly posed and are more about capturing a moment (as is my photographic style), whereas this one is completely the opposite.
I post processed this image quite significantly in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to get the look I wanted, which again is something I try not to overdo usually as I generally prefer photographs to look natural and not overly edited. I think the editing in this photograph works really well though. To compare the finished version with the shot with the original, I have posted both the “straight out of camera” version and the final version.
Finally, a couple of other photographers who have seen this photograph have said it has a similar style to that of Yervant (arguably the best wedding photographer in the world) so for me that is the ultimate compliment!
Straight out of camera
Final version
by Neil
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